Keeley has offered its latest take on the classic twofer reverb/tremolo pedal template by unveiling the newly engineered Zoma.
A spiritual successor to the hybrid Hydra reverb pedal and tremolo pedal, the Zoma has been billed as one of Keeley’s most notable releases in some time – and not just for the advances it represents in the firm’s modulation lineup.
Rather, Robert Keeley himself has called the Zoma “one of our crowning achievements”, saying he’s most proud of the fact the Zoma highlights the improvements Keeley has recently made to its sound quality, manufacturing abilities and UI.
“Don’t be fooled by its simplicity. It’s a wonderful-sounding machine,” Keeley says. “This is one of our crowning achievements here. This means everything we produce out of our factory is going to sound better now. This means a lot to me.”
Dubbed Keeley’s “most high-fidelity pedal to date”, the Zoma is a stereo reverb and tremolo pedal that looks to tackle the supremacy of the dominant Strymon Flint.
In operation, there are just three (generously sized) control knobs for Rate, Depth and Level – which serve secondary functions for Reverb Decay, Reverb Tone and Tremolo Volume – and a three-way toggle for accessing its trio of modes.
Those three modes include ‘SS’, which is Spring Reverb and Sine Tremolo; PH, which is Plate Reverb and Harmonic Tremolo; and PV, which is Plate Reverb and Pitch Vibrato”.
Thanks to some flexible switching circuitry, the alt control functions can be accessed by holding down the Reverb footswitch. Holding both the Reverb and Tremolo footswitches at the same time also lets players flip the effects order.
Top-mounted jacks offer both stereo ins and outs, as well as a standard 9VDC jack.
Notably, this form factor follows the UI precedent that was set by Keeley’s Sweetwater-exclusive California Girls pedal. Given Keeley’s affection for this new design, expect to see similarly styled pedals in the future.
The Zoma – which comes in Silver and Custom Shop Sand finishes – is available now for $229.
Visit Keeley for more.
